Lisa Armstrong feels doubly betrayed by her axing from Britain’s Got Talent – because she was close friends with its producers.

Makeup artist Lisa has been cut from the upcoming talent show as her soon-to-be-ex husband Ant McPartlin gears up to make his grand return to television , after nearly a year off to recover from drink and drug addictions.

The Mirror exclusively revealed on Sunday that Lisa’s freelance job had been scrapped after more than 10 years of working on the ITV2 spinoff show Britain’s Got More Talent, where she primarily worked as Stephen Mulhern’s makeup artist.

The insider told Mirror Online: "Lisa is spitting feathers at being axed – she’s part of the BGT family and loved working there for over 10 years.

"For her to be cut off after so long is gutting.

"She’s had a lot of input into BGT that viewers never got to see, like supplying props for games with Ant and Dec and doing lots more behind the scenes."

In the days since the Mirror broke the news, Lisa has come under fire from sources claiming she was sacked because of "attention-seeking behaviour" – but her pal says the allegations are totally false.

Lisa has been replying to her friends and fans on Twitter
(Image: Twitter)

"She’d never stir up trouble because she wouldn’t have wanted to lose one of her favourite jobs. She’s been through so much lately – what’s wrong with replying to some messages on Twitter?"

A separate BGT insider said the decision had been taken because it was "untenable" for Lisa to be working with Ant when he returns to filming in mid-January – the first time he’ll be reunited on screen with Declan Donnelly since last spring.

She admitted she was gutted to be told her job had finished
(Image: Twitter)

Although everyone is very fond of Lisa, it was clearly untenable to carry on working together," the insider added.

"Ant and Dec are two of the most senior people on the show, sometimes these tough decisions have to be made."

Mirror Online has contacted reps for ITV and Britain’s Got Talent for comment.